Joint Warfare Analysis Center
Capt. Gary Shoman
Commander Joint Warfare Analysis Center
Before 1994, JWAC was a department of the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD). Yet its earliest form began as a program office during the 1981 Iran hostage rescue mission. At that time, several employees working in F Department answered a request from the Pentagon to help with one aspect of the mission. Although the rescue mission ultimately failed, the ideas that had been developed for it took root and grew. Over the years, JWAC’s mission has evolved and expanded to stay relevant to the evolving threats facing our country. Beginning in 2004 and in every year since, the command has deployed dozens of civilian and military analysts to theater to provide direct customer support to battlefield commanders. It currently keeps about half a dozen employees deployed to theater for this purpose. To stay current and relevant, JWAC maintains a rigorous workforce training program. Employees are encouraged to spend three hours in professional development each week. The goal, as stated in the Commander’s Principles, is to prepare the “workforce to answer tomorrow’s challenges.” Historically, JWAC’s employees have participated in community out-
reach and disaster relief. For example, teams responded to a tornado in La Plata, Md. in 2002 and to Hurricane Isabel, which caused widespread damage and power outages in the region, in 2003. More recent examples include the command’s support for the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), donating more than $80,000 during 2011. Fund raisers are sponsored for the Enlisted Association, the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, employee donations to base holiday assistance programs, and a Christmas angel tree in cooperation with Rappahannock Area Project LINK. JWAC employs about 500 engineers, scientists, military members, and support personnel at its headquarters at the Naval Support Facility in Dahlgren, Va. They are led by Captain Gary Shoman, USN, the eighth commander in the JWAC’s 17-year history and the first Marine in that position, and Mr. Robert A. Tolhurst, Jr., the Executive Director since 2004. Formerly a joint subordinate command of U.S. Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) in Norfolk, Va. for more than a decade, JWAC officially became part of U.S. Strategic Command in Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., effective 1 June 2011.
Our Mission:
The Joint Warfare Analysis Center (JWAC) provides combatant commands, Joint Staff, and other customers with precise technical solutions to carry out the national security and military strategies of the United States. JWAC maintains and enhances its ability to conduct comprehensive technical analysis.
Our Vision:
Revolutionary technical solutions on time, every time, to support national security.
Mr. Robert A. Tolhurst, Jr. Executive Director Joint Warfare Analysis Center
Military: 37 Civilians: 400, Contractors: 37
Total Employees: 474
Overview:
Since 1994, the Joint Warfare Analysis Center (JWAC) has provided timely and accurate engineering and scientific analysis to military commanders and government officials to advance the national security strategy of the United States. To accomplish its mission, JWAC uses information provided by its partners in the intelligence community to analyze some of the most complex problems faced by military and civilian leaders alike and, by applying rigorous analytical methods, recommends solutions to these problems. It handles both crisis operations and contingency planning. Among its customers are combatant commands, the Joint Staff, and civilian agencies like the Departments of State and Treasury.
Naval Support Facility Dahlgren
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